Chapter 7
Penny was putting the laundry in the washing machine when she heard her phone ring from the kitchen counter. She decided to finish loading the laundry into the machine before going over to answer her phone. The ringing stopped and a few minutes later, it rang again as she pushed some buttons as the machine started humming to life. She grabbed her phone and saw it was Sheldon calling.
"Hi Sheldon! What's up?" she asked.
Penny froze as she listened to Sheldon on the other end of the line. She didn't know what to do as tears started falling from her eyes.
"Penny are you still there?" Sheldon asked. "Penny!?" he said.
"Sheldon!" Penny said.
"Listen to me Penny, you have to leave right now and we'll meet you at the hospital. Howard and Raj are already here with me." Sheldon said as Penny pressed the red icon on her phone. She then grabbed her keys and ran out of the house towards her car. She was trying hard not to panic as she inserted the keys in the ignition slot. The car rumbled to life as Penny pressed on the gas and drove out, hitting a couple of trash cans along the way. She took her phone and dialed her son's number, trying hard to keep her eyes on the road. After a few rings, William answered.
W: "Hi mom. I can't talk right now. I'm in the middle of a lecture." he whispered.
P: "William your dad!" she said trying to hold back her tears.
W: "Mom what are you saying? What happened to dad?" he asked sensing something wrong.
P: "Your dad had a heart attack! They brought him to the hospital! Sheldon called me!" she said as she started crying.
W: "What!?" he yelled on the phone, standing up. He saw the entire class and his professor looking at him. "I'm sorry sir but I have to go. My father had a heart attack and I have to go to the hospital now." he said. His professor nodded his head and told him to go. He put the phone back to his ear as he grabbed his backpack. "Mom I'm going now. I'll swing by Sarah's school and take her with me." He said.
P: "Okay. Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Leonard!"
W: "Mom just relax and I'll meet you at the hospital." he said putting his phone down while running hurriedly to the parking lot.
William quickly got into his car and drove away to fetch Sarah from her school.
He arrived at Sarah's school in no time and ran along the hallway to find his sister. He found her classroom and knocked on the door. The teacher saw him and opened the door.
"William, what are you doing here?" Sarah asked standing up.
"Uh excuse me ma'am but I have to take my sister Sarah with me, our father was rushed to the hospital." He said.
Sarah immediately cried and ran to her brother.
"Oh my god what happened to dad!?" she yelled starting to cry.
"Mom said he had a heart attack. We don't know for sure." he said. The teacher told Sarah to get her bag and go with her brother.
Sarah can't stop crying and freaking out as she grabbed her bag while her classmates look at her and William.
"Stop crying Sarah. It won't help us now!" William told her as they left her classroom and hurriedly walked out the building.
"How can you stay calm!? Dad is in the hospital right now!" she yelled at her brother.
"I'm worried too! But it won't help if we all freak out now does it!?" he said as they get inside his car. "Seat belt!" he said to his sister as they drove out of the parking lot.
Penny arrived at the hospital and ran to the emergency room to ask for her husband. The nurse pointed her to the cardiology department on the third floor. Penny ran as fast as she could and saw Sheldon, Howard and Raj in the third-floor lobby sitting on the chairs. Sheldon saw Penny and stood up as Penny broke down and cried, hugging him.
"Sheldon where is Leonard!?" she asked as a nurse walked by and heard her.
"Are you Mrs. Hofstadter?" asked the nurse.
"Yes. Where is my husband!? I need to see him now!" Penny said almost yelling.
"Mrs. Hofstadter, I'm sorry but your husband is in the operating room right now. They found a couple of clogged arteries near his heart and the doctors are doing everything they could." said the nurse.
Penny broke down on the floor crying while Sheldon and Raj tried to calm her down.
"Don't worry Mrs. Hofstadter, Dr. Conroy is one of the best heart surgeons in the state. Your husband is in good hands." The nurse said trying to comfort Penny. Sheldon and Raj helped Penny up and have her sit on the chair. Penny sat and continued to cry as the guys tried to calm her down. Howard gave her a bottle of water. Penny drank and took a deep breath.
"Marty was trying to stop him from going to work this morning." said Penny.
"Your dog?" Howard asked.
Penny wiped her tears. "Yeah. He was acting crazy around Leonard before he went to work. This was the first time that dog did something like this. Oh my god, why didn't I saw it!?" she said starting to cry again.
"Penny, nobody knew what was going to happen. Leonard was lucky he was in class when it happened." Howard said.
"He's right. Let's just hope for the best. I'm sure Leonard's going to be okay." Raj added. They sat there for about ten minutes when Amy and Bernadette showed up. Penny immediately ran to them and hugged her best friends.
"Bernie! Amy!" Penny said crying.
Amy and Bernadette hugged Penny, trying hard to calm her down. "It's gonna be alright Penny. I'm sure Leonard is going to be okay." Said Bernadette.
"She's right bestie. Leonard wouldn't want you to worry." said Amy the same time William and Sarah came running to their mother. Penny saw her children and immediately broke down crying as the two hugged their mother.
"Mom I'm scared!" Sarah said crying on her mother's shoulder as William joined them.
"Where is dad? What happened to him?" asked William trying to hide his trembling voice.
"The nurse said they found two clogged arteries near Leonard's heart. He's in the operating room now." Said Howard.
Penny helped her daughter to sit down. "Don't worry sweetie, your father is gonna be alright." Penny said reassuring her daughter while Bernadette hugged William, trying to calm him down.
"I'm the worst daughter in the world." Sarah said as Penny hugged her.
"What are you talking about?" Penny said.
Sarah wiped her tears. "I was a minute from being late in class so I grabbed my bag and ran out of the car." she said. "He told me to have fun and that he loved me but I never said it back to him and just ran away." Sarah added then crying her eyes out.
"Oh sweetheart, don't say that. Nobody could have known that this would happen to your dad." Penny said trying hard to keep it together.
"That's why Marty was barking at him this morning." Sarah said crying.
"I know sweetie." said Penny kissing Sarah's cheek.
"I want to see dad right now." Said Sarah.
"Honey, we can't. We just need to sit here and wait until the doctor says so." Said Penny.
William stood up. "I'm gonna go and find something to drink. Do you guys need anything?" he asked.
"Can you get me a coffee sweetie? Thank you." said Penny. "Honey, do you want something?" she asked.
"No. I want to see dad." Said Sarah.
"It won't be long now honey." Penny said trying to be strong for her children. William walked away and came back with Penny's coffee and a couple of bottled water. Penny took a sip of her coffee as Sarah leaned her head oh her shoulder, holding her mother's hand.
After almost an hour, a doctor came through the door, looking for Penny.
"Excuse me, are you Mrs. Hofstadter?" he said.
Penny quickly stood up followed by her children. "Is my husband alright?" she asked nervously.
"I'm Dr. Conroy and yes, your husband is going to be alright. We found a couple of clogged arteries near his heart and performed angioplasty on him." Dr. Conroy said to the relief of everyone.
"Angioplasty?" Penny asked as Sarah held on to her mother.
"Mom, they use this very narrow tube to widen dad's artery so the blood will flow easily." William said.
"You son is right." said Dr. Conroy.
Penny took a deep breath, feeling relieved that her husband is going to make it.
"Can we see my daddy now?" asked Sarah.
"I'm sorry, but you have to wait for a couple of hours while the effect of the drugs wears off. Don't worry, your father is going to be alright" said Dr. Conroy patting Sarah on her shoulder.
"Thank you so much Dr. Conroy. We owe you." Penny said shaking his hand.
"You're welcome. Now if you'll excuse me, I have another patient to attend to. I'll come by and visit your husband later." He said as he walked away. They returned to their seats feeling relieved that Leonard is going to be alright.
"Sarah sweetie, are you hungry?" Penny asked. Sarah nodded. "Why don't we all eat at the cafeteria? I mean we won't be seeing him for another couple of hours." she said.
"I am kinda hungry." said Sheldon.
"Yeah me too." said Amy.
"Okay let's go." said Howard as he looked at his phone. "It's President Wilson, he's asking about Leonard. I'm gonna tell him he's gonna be alright." he said as he typed on his phone.
They arrived at the cafeteria and fell in line at the food counter to get their food. Penny paid for their food as they sat at adjacent tables on the far side of the cafeteria. They were done eating after about half an hour and went back to the waiting area to ask if they can already visit Leonard.
Another thirty minutes have passed and a nurse came and informed them that they can see Leonard now.
"Mrs. Hofstadter, your husband is awake now and the doctor is allowing visitors but it should be short since we don't want your husband to be stressed." Said the nurse.
Sarah and William quickly jumped up from their seats and followed the nurse to their father's room.
Leonard smiled when he saw his children walk through the door. "Hey you guys!" he said.
"Daddy!" Sarah cried as she ran to her father, hugging and kissing him. William did the same as his sister. Penny walked through the door and ran to her husband, hugging and kissing him.
"Honey!" said Penny crying on her husband's neck. The whole gang entered the room and was glad to see Leonard out of harm's way.
"Ugh. Don't worry about me. I'm fine now!" he said as his family buried him in hugs and kisses.
"I thought I was gonna die when Sheldon called and told me they had to rush you to the hospital!" Penny said as she wouldn't stop kissing her husband.
"Relax honey, I'm fine now. I thought I was just having an asthma attack but then my eyes became blurry and everything started spinning and the next thing I knew, they were wheeling me into the emergency room." Leonard said reassuring his family. "I'm gonna be okay now sweetheart!" he said kissing his daughter. "Don't cry." He said to his daughter.
"I'm sorry I ignored you daddy." Sarah said, still hugging her father.
"What are you talking about honey?" he asked his daughter.
"Earlier when you dropped me off at school, you told me you love me and I didn't say it back to you." she said, crying on his shoulder.
"Aww, don't worry about it sweetheart. It's alright. Don't cry." he said reassuring the young woman.
"I love you daddy." she said. "I'm sorry if I'm not the best daughter." she added, making Penny smile.
"Oh honey, don't say that. You're the best daughter any father could ever have." he said. "I mean, you've got your mother's looks, you've got my brain. Although, we could really do without all your shenanigans, like when you almost set fire to the school." he said making them laugh at the tender moment between father and daughter.
"Leonard, I'm glad you're doing okay now." Sheldon said, giving his best friend a hug.
"Thank you Sheldon." said Leonard. "Thank you guys." said Leonard.
"And I thought I was the one with a heart condition." Howard said smiling, patting him on the shoulder.
"Yeah. Trust me Howard, it's not fun." said Leonard smiling.
Sarah sat up and held her father's hand. "Daddy."
"Yes honey?" he said facing his daughter.
"I know you're stressed with me having a boyfriend, that's why I decided I'm going to break up with Jason so you and mom won't have to worry about me." said Sarah. Penny, Leonard and the rest of the gang were touched at what the young lady said.
Leonard touched his daughter's face. "Honey no! Don't say that. It's not your fault!" he said smiling at her. "Come here!" he said hugging his daughter. "Ugh, I love you so much honey!" he said as Sarah hugged her father. Dr. Conroy and a nurse entered the room carrying a clipboard.
"So, Dr. Hofstadter, how are you feeling?" asked Dr. Conroy as the nurse began to take Leonard's vitals.
"A lot better now. Thank you doctor." said Leonard.
"That's good to know. I'm giving you a prescription for your medication and I strongly suggest that you stick to it. It's also normal for your blood pressure to be lower than usual since your arteries are un-clogged but I have to recommend that you take light exercises every day, maybe taking a walk around the block or biking?" said Dr. Conroy.
"Honey you could take Marty for a walk every day." Said Penny.
"You're right. Now I know why that dog went crazy this morning." said Leonard.
"Uh Marty is your dog?" asked the doctor.
"Yes. He went crazy around dad this morning, barking and growling at him. Its as if he was trying to say something." said Sarah.
"Wow! That dog is really something huh!?" the doctor said smiling at Sarah. "Anyway, I'm recommending a month-long rest and you have to cut down on fatty foods and start eating healthy. Your blood work shows a high cholesterol level and you're not exactly getting any younger now aren't you?" said the doctor. Leonard nodded. "Anyway, we'll be keeping you here for the next couple of days to monitor your vitals, just to make sure. After that, we can send you home to continue your recovery." said Dr. Conroy. "Do you have any questions?" he asked. No one replied. "Alright, I'll get going then." he said as he left the room with the nurse following close behind.
The gang stayed with Leonard until it was time to go home. Penny took Sarah and William home to get some stuff for Leonard. Penny asked William to stay at the house with his sister for the night while she stays in the hospital with Leonard. Penny came back to the hospital with a small bag containing some clothes for her and Leonard so she could spend the night with him in the hospital room.
Leonard was done eating dinner and taking his medicine as Penny helped with cleaning up his food tray. He stood up and went to the bathroom to wash up and change into his sleep clothes. Penny followed after Leonard was done in the bathroom. Leonard was sitting on the bed trying to find something to watch on the TV when Penny came out of the bathroom wearing her pajamas. She snuggled up to Leonard on the hospital bed and kissed him goodnight.
"Honey?" she said.
"Hmmm." Leonard muttered.
"Don't leave me. I don't think I can make it without you." Penny said.
Leonard smiled at her. "Honey, it would take more than a heart attack for you to get rid of me." he said.
"Leonard I'm serious. I'm too young to be a widow." said Penny hugging him tighter.
Leonard kissed her head. "Don't worry honey, I'll be careful from now on." he said.
"I'm so proud of our daughter. Imagine, she's willing to break it off with Jason thinking that her relationship is what triggered your heart attack." said Penny
"Yeah. Even after all the crazy things she's done, her heart's still at the right place." said Leonard.
"And William was so cool and calm while Sarah and I were freaking out." said Penny.
"Really?" Leonard asked.
"Uh huh, it's as if he already knew how to handle these things." Penny said.
Leonard pulled her close. "Good job honey, I'm so proud of you." he said. "Now let's get some sleep." he said as they slowly went to sleep.